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My iPad Keeps Freezing During SideCar

The Sidecar works fine for awhile (anywhere between a 30 mins to one hour), but then the display just freezes. It seems the connection to my macbook is still there, it's just the display that's not working properly. In order to fix it I need to reconnect sidecar on my mac.

This is a recurring problem.


Any idea how to fix it?


I'm using an M1 pro Macbook Pro (14') and an iPad Air 4.

iPad (4th gen) Wi-Fi

Posted on Feb 17, 2022 9:46 AM

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34 replies

May 2, 2022 10:08 AM in response to alon99

I actually noticed that the issue is with the WiFi. It drops when your wifi is unstable. Sidecar doesn't seem to know how to reconnect when it gets dropped so it shows a frozen screen instead.


SOLUTION: So, I turned off my WiFi and also my cellular on my iPad and connected it using a USB, instead. It works for me!


System:

iPad Pro 12"

MacBook Pro M1 Max MacOS Monterey

May 4, 2022 11:21 AM in response to goblue42

Yes. The first time I used sidecar I had no problem. Then I updated to macOS 12.3.1 and it started happening all the time. Turning off face ID for unlock and setting the unlock time to 1 hour helped. That plus using a wired connection helped. It's not ideal. Definitely expected better reliability and functionality from Apple. This is some Windows-type #@&!.

May 24, 2022 9:30 AM in response to alon99

I have this problem with a MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro) with macOS Monterey 12.3.1 and an iPad Air 5th-Gen with iOS 15.4.1 and a USB-C-to-USB-C cable. I previously used a MacBook Pro (15-inch, i7) and an iPad Air 4th-Gen with a USB-C-to-USB-C cable, and Sidecar worked flawlessly perhaps 99% of the time. Now, Sidecar works properly for a while but eventually unexpectedly freezes. Today this happened within 45 minutes of starting work in the morning. It is very annoying since when it freezes I must disconnect Sidecar, unplug and replug the wired connection, then restart Sidecar. It takes me out of the flow of what I was doing and ruins productivity instead of improves it. I have found no consistent way to immediately reproduce the problem, but the problem consistently recurs. I don't feel that I'm doing anything to cause the problem. Today it happened with two Excel spreadsheets on different devices. I noticed it freezing when my cursor, then on the iPad screen, no longer appeared to move. I can “invisibly“ move the cursor back to the MBP screen—invisible because I can’t see it while it moves, but when the cursor reaches the MBP screen I can see it move again. Activity on the MBP screen continues to work normally while the iPad screen is frozen and stays that way until Sidecar is disconnected. Restarting the devices does not resolve the problem, which eventually returns. I never use Sidecar wirelessly and am surprised that some people are able to resolve their problem by switching from wireless to wired because wired is where I'm seeing the problem.

May 27, 2022 5:09 AM in response to realspenz

I have a similar setup, MacBook Pro M1 13" + iPad Pro 12.9" M1


I've given up trying this (wirelessly), instead using Universal Control to control the iPad Pro from the MacBook Pro, which works really nicely. Every time I would try, within a few minutes Sidecar would freeze up on the iPad. Turning the sidebar or touchbar setting on/off (toggle) would sometimes "awaken" it, but it was so annoying I didn't want to put up with it.


However, I have a Zoom conference this morning, and I'm really wanting to use a dual screen setup for it, so I'm going to try the USB method, turning off wifi and Bluetooth on the iPad and connecting the two with a USB-C cable.


We'll see...


But yes, Apple needs to address this, as doing it wirelessly is very convenient...if it would only work.

May 27, 2022 11:05 AM in response to Fred Laxton

The one thing that I found makes it work (wired – I can't vouch for wirelessly) is turning off facetime unlock, and setting the unlock frequency to 1 hour. It seems whenever the ipad would normally lock is when the connection breaks. A pretty obvious tick you'd think the richest company on earth could figure out, but the "it just works" days of Apple are long gone.

Jul 5, 2022 3:44 AM in response to alon99

I also experience this problem in my setup: M1 Pro 14" Macbook Pro + 4th gen iPad Air.

I never tried wired, since I don't usually carry USB-C cables, but wirelessly I can confirm that a few minutes in with a perfectly good connection (and both devices sitting in the exact same position on my desk) that the iPad's screen just freezes in the sidecar window. I can still use the iPad if I switch apps, but the sidecar window remains frozen until I restart the connection on the mac.

My iPad Keeps Freezing During SideCar

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